Chiang Mai to Pai by Motorcycle

 

This post is a trip report about renting a motorcycle in Chiang Mai and driving up north to Pai. First off, it is important to note that if you don't have any / much experience driving a motorcycle this trip probably isn't a good place to start, as the roads are pretty scary in parts and can be extremely dangerous. However, if you have some experience on bikes, this is a perfect way to get to Pai while seeing the sights and stopping at beautiful little coffee shops along the way. 

 

A good starting point for this trip is to orient yourself at Maya Mall, and continue until you get to Chang Pruak Road, open the route by clicking the image below. 

 

 

As shown above, Google suggests a time of approximately 3 hours for this route. But, I guess that is at quite a high average speed. I recommend budgeting at least 5 hours and leaving Chiang Mai no later than around midday. The last thing you want is to be riding that 1095 road up in the mountains at night with such winding roads and no street lights it would be incredibly scary! 

 

Where to Rent a Motorcycle in Chiang Mai?

 

Renting a motorcycle in Thailand is generally hassle free, although for those that have done a little Googling you may have came across horror stories about deposits / passports not being returned due to small damages to the bikes. This is probably nothing to worry about, however, the two motorcycle rental companies below come recommended from a close friend that has experience renting bikes in Thailand for over a decade. 

 

Buddy Motorcycles

 

We rented our bikes from Buddy Motorcycles on Huay Kaew Road, you can click on the map below to find the exact location. 

 

 

We got a PCX and a Honda Click , both over 150cc , which is recommended since the hills get pretty steep and dragging a 85kg carcus like mine is hard on the bikes at the best of times! 

 

 

We rented the bikes for a total of a week and the cost was 2500 THB rental fee, and a 3000 THB deposit. I am pretty sure you can leave you passport as a security deposit, but we needed our passports to check in to hotels so we opted for the cash deposit which was returned to us in full upon returning the bikes. 

 

Cat Motors

 

This rental shop also comes recommended through a friend, and is located conveniently in the old city. We actually used this rental company's guide to the Mae Hong Son loop as it is very helpful. I am also led to believe that if you have large luggage you can securely store it at Cat Motors rental shop. 

 

 

 

A tip from aforementioned friend : if you do damage the bike in some way, which is highly possible. It is advised to just be upfront with the shop and point out the damage upon returning the bike, and you can be pretty sure that they will treat you fairly. Also I guess it is important to remember that for every horror story you hear from tourists getting ripped off, the average motorcycle rental shop could give you 10 times as many stories about customers costing them money and causing hassle. Just try to remember you are dealing both with someone else's property and also the way they generate their income to support themselves and their families. 

 

 

The Journey

 

We left off from Chiang Mai at around midday and took our time on the bikes towards the 1095 road to Pai. It is probably a good idea to bring some sunscreen with you on this trip, with the wind you don't feel it but it is likely you will get badly burnt being out all day in the sun. We drove for around an hour before stopping off for some Thai food at a little restaurant on the way. 

 

 

 

We got Khao Suay with beef each and one plate to chicken satay to share , along with the free water the entire bill came to a total of 120 THB which honestly feels like stealing it is so cheap and so good. After lunch we drove about another 15 minutes before getting on to the 1095 road which is basically a straight road to Pai, perhaps straight here is a poor choice of language as this road is probably one of the bendiest roads in the world, but there are no intersections so you won't get lost once you get on to this road. 

 

We drove for a good hour or so on the 1095 before finding a small coffee shop. Right around the corner from this coffee shop is a waterfall that we decided to check out also. There seems to be some sort of 'feed the rabbits' or something at this coffee shop, which we declined to partake in, but if that is your thing it is there! 

 

 

After coffee we took a left directly beside the Pankled Coffee shop to take a quick detour to Mokfa Waterfall. After approximately 5 minutes we arrived at the kiosk to pay the fee to enter the waterfall. It was 120 THB per person.

 

 

After a short walk we reached the waterfall, it really is quite beautiful around here and I guess if you wanted to cool down you could go for a dip in the waterfall. We decided against this and returned to the bikes to get on with the journey to Pai. 

 

 

 

 

 

We continued along the 1095 for another 90 minutes approximately. The gradient on the roads starts to get increasingly steep as you move along the 1095, it is here you see the advice regarding getting a 150cc bike or above comes in to play, going full throttle the bike can only reach about 30 kph going up some of the hills. 

I am pretty sure we averaged around 35-40 kph going on these roads, a bit of advice if you are not too confident is to stick to the very left of the road and slow way down if you see a vehicle coming behind you, the drivers can be quite daring on the overtakes, so it is probably a good idea to just slow way down. Better to get there in one piece than not at all! 

 

We stopped at quite a few viewpoints on the way, a lot of them are very scenic and have nice little coffee shops that also sell cold drinks. 

 

 

One good thing for coffee lovers, the coffee in northern Thailand is generally very good indeed. We increase the number of stops quite a lot after we got to the Kong Gnam Viewpoint. I also recall it got a little cold around here. You may want to pack a jumper if you are going during cold season. It was rainy season when we went June 2024, and although we were lucky not to get caught in the rain, we did pack raincoats, which you can get in any 711. Although if it does start to rain heavily you probably just want to find somewhere to stop and shelter until the worst of it is done, there are a lot of signs while in the mountainous part of the 1095 road that says "slippy when wet" , as mentioned the roads are dangerous enough never mind adding slipperiness in to the mix. 

 

 

To be honest after the view point I really started to notice the fatigue kicking in , added to the fact that you really need to be giving 100% concentration on the final straight in to Pai as the roads somehow get bendier and bendier. The last 20 km really drag for me, although I should note that we were doing this route on a lack of sleep and perhaps a few too many shandies the night before, not recommended at all! Get a good night's sleep , this road really is quite stressful to drive on. 

 

We roll in to Pai slightly after 17.00 and make our way to the main walking street. We decide to stay at the Hotel Des Artists shown below. We paid 2000 THB per night, which is on the higher end of hotels in Pai, but the rooms were exceptionally nice and perfectly located beside all the bars and restaurants. 

 

 

Overall I would say I was very glad to get to Pai in one piece, not having a lot of experience on these types of roads made a large part of this trip quite stressfull. Although the natural beauty on the way was quite nice indeed. I was absolutely shattered by the time we got to Pai, a few beers and a burger and straight to bed for a long, well deserved sleep! 

 

There are plenty of tour companies in Pai that offer reasonable prices on activities and tours in the surrounding area. It might be a good idea to budget a day or two in Pai as there is plenty to do. Below is a little coffee shop we went to in Pai the next day, truly exceptional views. If you are fond of the occasional puff of weed Pai is your place, the smell of ganja hits you almost instantly upon entering the town. Even though in my early 30s I did feel quite old to be honest, the place seems to be jammed packed with young Brits out enjoying their break from uni!